We were two weeks into First Phase, and only forty-one members of the class remained.

One of them was Aria.

But she wasn’t in the clear yet. Hell week was two days away.

And she still hadn’t been able to complete the “O” course.

Every day I trained her with her classmates.

And every night, I watched her from my bedroom window, trying to jump on Dirty Name.

It was a bit past midnight. The class had to be up at four in the morning. But as I gazed out my window, I saw a small figure under the fluorescent lights, attempting to overcome her hurdle.

At this point, it was mental. She was the most exceptional performer in our class by far.

I knocked back a whiskey. One of the reasons I’d been so against women in BUD/S was I thought we would have to lower our standards.

But Aria had shown me that was far from the case. She hadn’t just met our standards; she had exceeded them.

The goal of BUD/S wasn’t just to haze these men. It was to ensure that they could succeed at war.

Deep down, we wanted all the candidates to succeed.

So why was I being such an asshole to Aria?

Was it because she hurt me? Humiliated me?

Or was it because I didn’t think she belonged here?

Kyle had ordered me to help her. The Admiral wanted her to succeed.

If I was truly the only person who could help her pass this hurdle, why was I holding her back? If it were any other candidate, I’d help.

I hurriedly dressed and put my boots back on. I ran back to base, flashed my ID, and made my way to the “O” course.

Aria was squatting on the first log of Dirty Name. She was filthy and battered, but I still thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.

She turned as I walked up to her. “Please, I know I’m not supposed to be practicing. Don’t kick me off the course. This is my last chance. I’m so close, I—”

I put my hand over her mouth. “I’m not here to make you stop. We’re going to do this together. It’s just like the bike, champ. You got this.”

“Champ?” Her lips trembled, and she blinked rapidly. “You’re helping me? You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“I’m helping you because of our past—I’m helping you because it’s my job. I’m your instructor. That’s all it is. Don’t speak. Watch me.”

I ran back and did a running start. Then I jumped off the log like I had done a thousand of times before and landed on my waist over the hurdle, using my forearms to propel me.

I returned to Aria.

“I’ve done that. It doesn’t work. I just can’t get it.”

I grasped her shoulders. “Yes, you can. Don’t say that. I believe in you. You have completed both the ocean swim and run in time. You’re an Olympian. You will do this now. We’re going to do it together.”

She nodded.

We ran back into the sand, and I held her hand. A jolt shot to my cock. Her touch always ignited me.

“One, two, three, go.” I dropped her hand.

We ran together, but I stepped out of the way. She leaped up and pulled her body up with her forearms.

She started to struggle, but I cheered her on. “That’s it, champ. You got it! Pull yourself up. Don’t look down.”

She wrapped her body around the bar using her legs and did it again on the higher hurdle, before jumping down.

“You did it!”

I ran toward her and scooped her up into my arms. Before I could stop myself, our lips met. I kissed her despite my vow that this was just business and she was no different than any other candidate. We were out in the open for the whole base to see. My mind wanted to stop by my lips didn’t listen. I grabbed the back of her neck and ravished her mouth, claiming it for mine.

For now.

Forever.

She kissed me back furiously, her hands pressing against my chest before I found the strength to pull away.

“Erik, I can’t thank you enough. I couldn’t have done it without you. You don’t know how much this means to me. I love you.”

At that moment, I knew that I still loved her.

That I had never stopped.

And I refused to ever let her go.

“I love you, too.”

Tears stained her cheeks. I hadn’t seen her cry once during BUD/S until now.

I looked at her face in the moonlight, and I finally realized that she was going to make it. I was staring at the first female Navy SEAL.

And I was proud to be her man.

I lifted her chin up. “Stop it, champ. SEALs don’t cry.”